How amazing was Chelsey B Sullenberger?
Amazing landings, followed normally by hailing the pilots as a hero, is something I always have a difficult time dealing with. This is probably the case with most commercial pilots. Defining hero is relatively simple, it’s someone who saves the day or saves a great loss of life. My ex-girlfriend told me many times that I was her hero. While I don’t disagree with the notion, I do wish to say a few remarks about yesterday’s water landing. Unfortunately, commercial pilots are not trained to be heroes. A better way to define it would be trained to follow procedures. In order to consistently and safely operate a commercial aircraft, there are hundreds of procedures that accompany every situation and every stage of flight. By following this training, inadvertently many pilots end up being hailed as heroes. The procedure for an engine failure, rather it be due to birds or some other mishap, is to commence a go-around and make an emergency landing. Captain Sullenberger called for the go-around
